Following Girlfriend’s Tip, Dallas Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Pornography Involving Five-Year-Old

A Dallas man who filmed himself sexually abusing a five-year-old girl was sentenced today to 30 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Michael Angelo Vasquez, 27, was charged via criminal complaint in July 2020 and indicted the following month. He pleaded guilty in May 2021 to production of child pornography and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, who ruled he should receive the statutory maximum penalty.

According to court documents, the investigation began after Mr. Vasquez’s then-girlfriend suspected he was involved in an affair and searched his iPhone for evidence of communication with other women. Instead, she discovered images of Mr. Vasquez sexually assaulting a five-year-old child.

She reported the images to law enforcement, who obtained a search warrant for Mr. Vasquez’s phone. In the phone’s Google Photos app, agents located the video Mr. Vasquez’s girlfriend described, along with thumbnails from other videos depicting child sexual abuse.

In plea papers, Mr. Vasquez admitted that he filmed at least four videos of himself sexually abusing the child and later shared the video online via an instant messaging platform.

Authorities connected the child with the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides resources for abused children.

“While the lengthy sentence this defendant received is clearly justified, the emotional and physical abuse of the innocent child he victimized is likely to linger indefinitely, “ said Jesse Woods, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas. ”Proud of the work of our criminal analysts, special agents and law enforcement partners who helped end the deviant behavior of this defendant before he could harm another child. Even more important is the courage displayed by Mr. Vasquez’s then girlfriend to report him to law enforcement when she discovered the child sexual abuse materials on his electronic devices.“

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.